BMC Racing Team confirmed their status as the world’s leading team time trial specialists to win the 35-km effort in Cholet. Richie Porte and his team-mates, five of which were already in the team who won a TTT on the Tour in 2015, clocked 38:46, to upstage pre-stage favorites Team Sky by four seconds. Third place went to Quick Step, who lost the stage and their yellow jersey chances by seven seconds. Peter Sagan, who was dropped by his Bora Hansgrohe team-mates, handed his yellow jersey to Greg Van Avermaet, who already led the Tour de France for three days in 2016, the year he also became Olympic champion.